Death in the Line of Duty

An institutional concept for cases in which public officials die while performing their duties or die from work-related disease or injury, recognized and compensated under the Public Officials' Disast

Death in the Line of Duty

Overview

Death in the line of duty (sunjik, 殉職) refers to cases in which public officials—including civil servants, military personnel, police officers, firefighting officials, and teachers—die while performing their duties or die as a result of work-related injury or disease. It is not merely a factual death but requires recognition of a substantial causal relationship between the work and the death; depending on recognition, legal treatment such as survivors' benefits, compensation, and burial in the National Cemetery differs. If the result is only injury or disease, it is classified as 'official injury' (gongsang, 公傷).

Key Details

Concept and Distinction from Official Injury

Both death in the line of duty and official injury fall under 'work-related disaster,' but the result divides them: death is line-of-duty death, while injury or disease is official injury. In practice, there are many cases in which a public official recognized for official injury later applies for conversion to line-of-duty death after the disease worsens and the official dies. Recognition of line-of-duty death is not merely a matter of honor but a compensation issue directly tied to the livelihood of survivors, so disputes over recognition are frequent.

Legal Basis

In the past, the Public Officials Pension Act governed work-related disasters, but with the enactment and enforcement of the Public Officials' Disaster Compensation Act in 2018 (September 21, 2018), the public officials' disaster compensation system was separated from the pension system. Military personnel are subject to the Military Personnel Disaster Compensation Act, private school teachers to the Private School Teachers and Staff Pension Act, and police and firefighting officials to relevant statutes and the Public Officials' Disaster Compensation Act, respectively. The criteria for recognizing work-related accidents under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act are also often referenced.

Recognition Procedure

The general structure is that the head of the affiliated institution applies for disaster compensation to the Government Employees Pension Service, and after deliberation and resolution by the Public Officials' Disaster Compensation Deliberation Committee (Line-of-Duty Death Review Committee) under the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Government Employees Pension Service makes the decision. If survivors object to the decision, they may request a reexamination or file an administrative lawsuit. Line-of-duty death status is also separately linked to deliberation on burial in the National Cemetery and screening for registration as a person of national merit.

Main Types of Line-of-Duty Death

First, accidental deaths occurring during official duties, such as fire suppression and rescue activities, traffic accidents, and disaster response. Second, deaths from work-related diseases, such as cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases caused by overwork and stress. Third, deaths caused by violence or terrorism during official duties. Fourth, suicides whose connection to work-related stress, workplace bullying, and the like is recognized; as recognition standards were established after 2018, the number of recognized line-of-duty death cases has increased. Fifth, deaths during the performance of special duties, such as overseas deployment or disaster dispatch.

Recognition Standards and Issues

The key is the substantial causal relationship between the work and the death. In cases of death from overwork, overtime hours during a certain period before onset, shift work and night work, and whether the workload increased sharply are comprehensively considered. In cases of suicide, work-related stress, workplace bullying, and violence in handling civil complaints must be recognized as causes. In practice, the trend emphasizes substantive review of individual cases rather than formal criteria such as 'death within 24 hours,' and criticism is also raised that this makes recognition less predictable.

Compensation and Honors

Once line-of-duty death is recognized, line-of-duty death survivors' compensation, survivors' pension, funeral expenses, and consolation money are paid, and if requirements are met, separate honors are granted through burial in the National Cemetery or registration as a person of national merit (military and police personnel who died in the line of duty). Symbolic honors are also provided, such as Memorial Day commemorations, enshrinement of memorial tablets, and the erection of memorial monuments for those who died in the line of duty.

Recent Trends

In 2024–2025, legislative and administrative changes continue to expand the scope of recognition for line-of-duty death. Through amendments to the Enforcement Decree and review standards of the Public Officials' Disaster Compensation Act, recognition standards for overwork- and stress-related diseases and suicide are shifting toward more substantive review, and measures to expand the participation of private experts in the Line-of-Duty Death Review Committee are also being discussed. As cases surrounding recognition of line-of-duty death for specific occupational groups such as teachers, firefighting officials, and police officers emerge as social issues, legislative discussions are also underway to regulate the honor and treatment of public officials who died in the line of duty under a separate law. In addition, calls continue to be raised to make compensation levels for survivors of line-of-duty deaths realistic and to rationalize the requirements for burial in the National Cemetery.